


The Past Ain't Through With You

by Writing_Doodle



Series: Not So Dangerous Days [12]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Gen, Hints of backstory, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jet is a Mom, Recovery, and ghoul has some deep seated issues with that, ghoul needs to LET PEOPLE LOVE HIM, the beginnings of it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 01:33:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8870596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_Doodle/pseuds/Writing_Doodle
Summary: "Ghoul, however, wasn't laughing. He stared at everyone, wide eyed and horrified. 'I...' Whatever words he was going to say died out when he suddenly stood up and rushed out of the diner."





	

**Author's Note:**

> some Jet/Ghoul bonding time + hints of Ghoul's Tragic Backstory™ 
> 
> alt. title - Ghoul Cries In This One

"Thanks, mom." 

Everyone in the room froze. 

The statement itself wasn't anything new. It was the tone - the total lack of sarcasm. Ghoul kept messing with his wires as if nothing happened. When he noticed the silence, he looked up to see everyone staring at him. 

"What?" He asked, genuinely confused. 

"Ghoul, you-" Jet started, trying and failing to fight the smile on his face. Poison cut him off. 

"You just called Jet mom!" They weren't even attempting to hide their smile. or even their laughter. Even Kobra was laughing softly at the whole thing. 

Ghoul, however, wasn't laughing. He stared at everyone, wide eyed and horrified. "I..." Whatever words he was going to say died out when he suddenly stood up and rushed out of the diner. 

"Ghoul!" Jet tried to catch him before he could escape, but he was just barely too slow. 

They all stared at the still open door. Whatever humor was in the room rushed out with the wind. Poison looked confused. "Was it because I was laughing?" 

Kobra was quick to wrap an arm around their shoulders and say. "Nah, it's just Ghoul being pissy like always." But even he looked concerned. 

"Should we go after him?" Poison asked, turning their head towards Jet. 

Jet was still staring at the door. "No. He'll just run off again. Give him some time to cool off. If he isn't back in a few hours, I'll get him." 

Poison nodded slowly and shrugged off their brother's arm. They went back to doing whatever they were doing before. Slowly, they all did, trying their best to ignore the gap Ghoul's absence left. 

\- 

A few hours passed and Ghoul wasn't back yet. Jet shrugged on his jacket and set out. He wasn't too worried; he didn't hear Ghoul get on his bike and there were only so many places he could've ran to by foot. 

Jet knew exactly where he went. 

It was a few miles away. Three or four... Jet didn't remember. It wasn't a pleasant walk, but the sun was starting to set so it wasn't as bad as it could've been. The place might've been a bomb shelter, or whatever. Something left behind from a time that seemed too old to have existed outside of imagination. 

The sun was almost completely down by the time he made it to the poorly concealed manhole. He knelt down and knocked a few times in quick succession. There was a long pause before the top popped open. Ghoul quickly scurried back down the ladder before Jet could get a closer look at him.

Jet groaned internally when it was made clear that Ghoul expected him to follow him down. Sometimes he really hated the fact that Ghoul found so much comfort in small spaces. Still, he clenched his jaw and slowly climbed down the ladder. He dropped off in a small chamber. Barely big enough to hold more than one person. 

Ghoul was sitting in a corner with his knees drawn to his chest. His hair hung in his face and Jet couldn't read more besides the discomfort in his body language. 

'Same, buddy.' Jet thought bitterly as he mimicked Ghoul's position. The space was so small that their legs brushed each other. Out loud he said, "What's up?"

Ghoul flicked his hair out of his face and Jet instantly narrowed in on the puffy eyes and red cheeks. "I didn't mean to." 

"What didn't you mean to do?" 

"Call you... _that_." 

"It's okay, Ghoul, I didn't mind-" 

" _God_ , I hate how you always think you know what's going through my head. I couldn't give a fuck how _you_ felt about it." Ghoul spat, curling into an even tighter ball. 

Jet let the words bounce off of him. It would've pissed him off a while ago, but he was used to it. Ghoul liked to throw stones when he was upset, it was just how things were. He waited patiently for Ghoul to say more. Well, as patiently as he could wait while it felt like the walls were closing in on him. 

"You're not my mother." Ghoul eventually mumbled. The words brought Jet back to so many explosions and arguments. To all of the times a bit of tenderness would lead to screaming and fighting. 

"I know." Jet answered as blandly as possible. 

Ghoul looked at him with an amount of vulnerability that Jet would've thought he wasn't capable of moments before. "You can never be. You can't-" Ghoul dropped his head and stared at his knees. His arms squeezed even tighter around his legs. "You can't replace her." He whispered, voice broken like shattered glass.

For lack of a better word, Jet was _stunned_. Even though he knew that everyone came from _somewhere_ , the concept of parents was an abstract one. Parents someone actually _likes_? Practically nonexistent. 

He's never thought much of Ghoul's parents, or even of what Ghoul's life was like before leaving the city. He sat there, unsure of what to say. 

Ghoul sighed and rested his head on his knees. "I'm stupid." 

"You're not stupid, Ghoul." 

"I _am_." Ghoul tugged his hair. "I'm a fucking idiot. Makin' a big deal out of nothing."

"If it upsets you that much, it's not nothing." 

"I'm upset over fucking _everything_ , though." 

"So what? You're still upset - doesn't matter if it's over a lot of things." 

Ghoul didn't say anything for a while. He just sat there curled up with his hands tangled in his hair. Jet reached over and detangled them. He smoothed over the tangled clumps until they looked sort of presentable again. Ghoul's hair was too shaggy and dirty to hope for anything more. 

Ghoul looked up and glared at him. "Why the fuck do you do that? Is it something you work hard at or are you just naturally... like that." 

Jet shrugged. "Guess I'm just naturally like that. You're a kid, as much as you like to deny it, and you're in my crew. I just... feel responsible for you, I guess. Maybe I do act like a mother." Jet shrugged again. 

Ghoul frowned and ruffled his own hair in an attempt to mess it up again. He said, "You're a discount mother, if anything." 

Jet rolled his eyes, but smiled fondly anyway. He gently shoved Ghoul's shoulder and mumbled, "Smart-ass." 

Ghoul laughed a little, but caught himself. Instantly, he looked uncomfortable again. "I hate this." He said. "I hate you, I hate this crew, I hate- I don't even fucking know, anymore. This isn't _fair_." 

"What isn't fair?" 

"You can't replace them, none of you can. This crew _can't_ replace the family I left behind. You can't fucking- and I forget that! I keep _forgetting_ and-" Ghoul buried his head in his knees again and practically screamed. "I don't know what to do!" 

To Jet's horror, Ghoul started crying right there. He tried to resist the urge to hold him - he knew that Ghoul was only gonna fight him off. He _tried_. Still, Jet found himself wrapping an arm around Ghoul and pulling him in. As predicted, Ghoul fought. Kicked and punched and yelled. There wasn't a lot of room, though. Quickly, Ghoul just let the fight leave him and he slumped bonelessly against Jet's chest. 

He sobbed harshly and viciously. Every gasp sent a shockwave through his body. Jet felt less like he was just comforting him and more like he was holding him together. He held on tightly, until Ghoul stopped shaking. Until his sobs started to quiet. Slowly, Jet let go, but Ghoul didn't move. 

Jet sighed and petted his hair. Smoothing over tangles that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "You're not replacing anyone, Ghoul. You're moving on."

"I shouldn't be able to move on, if none of them are able to." Ghoul responded, voice low and absolutely wrecked. 

"Thinking like that is gonna destroy you. It'll eat you up from the inside out." 

"Maybe I deserve it."

"You don't." Jet's voice was harsher than he intended it. He softened it slightly when Ghoul flinched. "You don't deserve that, Ghoul. No one deserves that."

Ghoul just shook his head and Jet knew he shouldn't push the argument anymore. Not now. Not when Ghoul's like this. He kept combing Ghoul's hair and he hoped he was doing something right. 

Ghoul still wasn't moving and Jet almost though he fell asleep, until he mumbled, "M' mom used to do this."

"Oh?" Jet asked, freezing slightly. He continued when Ghoul started whining like a toddler. 

"She... I'd get nightmares, sometimes." Ghoul continued, sounding like he was far away in the past. Jet didn't say anything, afraid of breaking the moment. "I'd cry and shit and she'd... wake me up and do this. It always calmed me down. Don't know how she knew it would... guess it's just something moms know." 

Jet agreed silently.

Ghoul mumbled a few words Jet couldn't catch and pulled away. He rubbed his eyes and face, trying to remove the evidence of him having normal human emotions. It didn't work. His eyes were still wet and puffy, his cheek were still red, and his nose was still running. He gave up and tried to cover it by letting his hair fall into his face. 

"Thanks." He whispered. 

"For what?"

"Don't know. Just... thank you." 

Jet smiled at the sincerity in Ghoul's voice and said, "Let's go back home."

Ghoul frowned at the word 'home', but he still nodded. "Yeah. Okay." 

They both climbed up the ladder and back into the real world. As soon as the night air hit his face, Jet felt like he could breathe again. Ghoul, in contrast, looked smaller than ever. 

Jet pulled Ghoul into a one-armed hug as they walked their way back. It was dark and well into the night. Jet had no idea how much time passed down there, but he knew he must've been a few hours. In the distance, they could see the faint lights from the diner. Party and Kobra were probably out of their minds with worry. 

"Jet?" 

"Yeah?"

"Please... don't tell anyone what happened down there. Don't tell them about how I..." 

"I won't. Don't worry." Jet squeezed him tighter and laughed when Ghoul shoved him away. "What happens in the bunker stays in the bunker."

**Author's Note:**

> I feel annoying for doing this after every chapter but please... comments help me write more


End file.
